Bloodshy
by ChocolateMilk2
Summary: Terry Tyson is being forced out of house and home to go on a Pokémon journey with the neighbour's kids. One problem- he's a vampire. Can Terry make the eight badges without eating his fellow companions, Pokémon and human?
1. Chapter One: Suspicion

The good thing about being a bloodhungry vampire was that there were always plenty of Ratata around.

The bad thing was, they bit.

"Oww," Terry muttered, sucking on his bleeding thumb as the latest little critter made its dash of freedom. There were some days he preferred his monstrosity to others.

But that was just the way things rolled in the suburb of Kanderbrook, north Olivine. Crime rates were low so Terry had to rely on the dregs of the dregs to keep from murdering the whole populace in a fit of wild starvation. Damn, but they tasted disgusting. Terry missed the days when he could get away with attacking the jailers in central Olivine.

"Were you just kissing a Ratata?" an incredulous voice demanded from behind.

Terry turned and quickly shook his head, finding the bloodshot brown eyes of Mina Lou rivited upon him. Mina was dark, from one of the east-continent Orange islands Terry thought, and she wore her hair and skirt shorter than the other girls at their school.

"I think you were," Mina insisted. "You had it raised up to your head, and you were holding to your mouth. What were you doing?"

"Obviously I was checking it for the pokerus," Terry lied, and at Mina's disbelieving glance folded his arms. "Oh come on, who in their right mind goes around kissing Ratata? Who would even think about that?"

"I don't know, but that's what I saw," Mina sang, and continued walking on past him, bracelets clinking with pace.

Yikes. Too close. Terry winced, leaning against the wooden fence that ran alongside the white footpath. He just hoped she didn't tell anyone, or the whole school would think he was into bestiality by the end of month.

Or worse— the truth.

He arrived home, dumping his bag in the hallway and kicking his shoes and socks off. "I'm back!" Terry called into the living room, although his mother had probably heard his racket already.

"Terry, get in here! I want to have a talk with you."

"You're in deep trouble," Terry's little sister Julie intoned from the computer chair behind her doorway, running a hand down its leather weave appreciatively.

Terry took off his watch and threw it at her.

"Terry? Good, there you are." He sat down at the counter, apprehensively. "Now, tell me. What in hells do you think you've been doing, leaving twenty dead rabbits out on our back porch every night?"

Terry fidgeted. "I've told you about this, it's a respect thing. I can't help it once I've gone hunting."

"Mrs. Clancey from next door came around to visit today, wanting to return the shears I lent her. Except I wasn't home to answer the front door, so guess where she went to leave the shears?"

"Oh god," Terry groaned. He was in deep shit.

"That's right," his mother acknowledged. "She saw your little peace offering by the back door. And what do you think she did? She called the animal welfare agency, who came around to have a nice little chat with me this morning. Except I still wasn't home yet, so Julie had to call me at work and get me to bring back a half dozen cats from the shelter so we had an excuse for it. Of course, they didn't take it and the stupid officers gave us a big fat fine for our efforts anyhow."

"What happened to the cats?" said Terry, who despite himself was still quite hungry.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" his mother roared, jabbing a finger into his chest. "I thought after the death row scandal you'd pull your act together and stop making the attacks so obvious. That hunting in the goddamn deep forest where no one bothers to go would at least keep you away from trouble with the law. But here I am again, having to cover up _your ass_ because you're not mature enough to keep it under control."

"I just told you, I can't help it. I'm young. And it's not something you can just flick an off switch to—"

"I thought you said you didn't like the taste of animals," his mother continued, ignoring him. "And then you go have a bunny buffet every night of the week like we live in a goddamn Sizzler."

Terry couldn't help himself; he smirked. "What can I say, I'm a vampire."

Looking exasperated, his mother dropped her head in her hands. "You're incorrigible," she said flatly. "And if the public gets any more wind of what's going on here we'll have a situation on our hands. You have to realize, it's not just your life you're risking, but mine and Julie's. None of us want to get disappeared by the agents."

"I guess there's nothing we can do about it," Terry consoled.

His mother's head snapped up. "No," she said. "But I think there's something you can do. I think you should leave the city for awhile."

"_What_?" Terry cried. "You're kicking me out? Over some bunny rabbits?"

"I don't want to," his mother defended. "You know I don't. But this is the last straw. You need to learn some caution, Terry, and I don't think this city is that safe for you anymore."

Terry swallowed. "So this is it, then?"

"Don't be stupid. We'll see each other again. You're damn near-immortal for one, it's not like I'm sending you off to get mauled out there." She suddenly clicked her fingers. "That's it. That's the perfect way to test your limits and credit your travels."

"Sending me off to get mauled out there?" Terry responded dubiously.

"Not that, you idiot," she said fondly. "Sending you off on a Pokémon journey."

"Oh, _no_ mum," Terry instantly disagreed. "You can't do that. Think of the poor Pokémon. I mean, I eat Ratata."

"Like most trainers without food stocks," his mother replied, and Terry gave her a disbelieving look. Obviously that was different. "Look, I honestly couldn't care if you eat the whole bloody pokedex. So long as you get some sort of empathy out of it that'll help you cut back on your diet."

"It's a bloodsport," Terry said flatly. "One battle and I'll go crazy killing everyone involved."

"Well obviously you don't actually train them," his mother replied. "Look, have a think about it. You don't have to become a trainer just for appearance's sake. So long as you go out and get it together, really. All I'm saying is it might be a good idea. And I've always thought we could use an extra pair of hands around the house."

That was true. And while Terry was safe on his own, Pokémon were crazy dangerous, and you could always stand to be that little bit safer.

He looked around the room. Stone walls, a crackling radio on top of the fridge, rafters that betrayed their thatched roof. How many times had he wished himself away from here, if for no reason other than personal understanding? His mum was great, and Julie was a heart when she wasn't being utterly annoying, but Terry knew as humans they'd never completely understand the urges he sometimes felt.

It wasn't fair that he was chucked out of his own home for something he couldn't change, but maybe his mum was right. He should learn how to hide it better, even if he couldn't stop it completely. And maybe he did need a break.

Terry marched into Julie's room, gleefully flicking the off switch for the computer at the power socket.

"Hey!" Julie cried, pushing back from her desk. "I was talking to someone on there you bumhead. _Mum_, Terry's ruining my social life!"

"I approve, Terry!"

Julie harrumphed and crossed her arms, glaring into Terry's smirking face. "So what misery has brought you my corner of doom this time?" she inquired, looking very much eager to be rid of his company.

"What's the best Pokémon there is?" Terry asked.

His adopted sister frowned. "One of the legendaries, I guess. Arceus? Why."

"How can I get a hold of this Arceus?" inquired Terry, folding his arms.

Julie burst out laughing. "You can't just get a hold of it, bonehead, it's god of all Pokémon. Scientists have been investigating its origin for thousands of years. How dumb can you _be_? This is why I keep telling you to get out more."

"Well then tell me the next best then," Terry said. "I'm going on a Pokémon journey and I want to be well defended."

Julie's chuckles died off as she took in Terry's face. "You're serious aren't you? You're seriously going to go out there and become a trainer."

"Got no choice," Terry grunted. "Mum's kicked me out."

Julie stood from her chair. "Look, this is ridiculous. You can't even look after yourself, you don't even know what _Arceus _is for Arceus's sake, and she expects you to survive out there? Let me talk to her."

Terrry grabbed her elbow. "No!" he demanded, and then quickly crossed his arms. "I mean, I want to go."

"You're the worst liar I've ever met," Julie said through giggles.

Terry grinned and shrugged. "Okay, so I don't really want to leave you guys. But it's safer this way. I mean, if I lose control, I don't really want either of you to be around me. This way I can learn."

His sister nodded slowly, digesting this. "We'll go collect supplies today then, and you can leave when they're all in. We'll have to tell the school, too." She paused. "I guess I can't get you to think of your education?"

"Not happening," Terry replied. "All goes in one ear and out the other, you know me."

"I guess it's a good thing you have twice as long as the rest of us to rethink it. You'll certainly need the flatter learning curve."

"Hey!" Terry protested immediately. It wasn't _that bad_.

Julie broke into more giggles. "Just wait until the other trainers get a load of your weak mons. 15 years old and training Caterpie. What will the Joys think?"

"I'm a late bloomer, okay!" Terry yelled after his sister, who was running down the hallway laughing.

A hand pressed on his shoulder.

"Aaah!" Terry whipped around. "Jeezus mum, you gave me a heart attack. I thought I was meant to be the skulking, shadowy one."

She whopped him on the head with her rolling pin. "Serves you right. One thing- little Georgie next door is leaving in a few weeks when he turns ten. His father's going spare worrying about him. You see him on the road, you help him out, alright?"

"Alright," Terry agreed. He paused. "Wait, you didn't just step up this whole thing to keep the neighbor's boy happy did you?"

"Of course not," His mother scoffed. "Now I'll give you some money for the journey, but I fully expect you to pack your own clothes and lunches and toiletries yourself. Once you've got eight badges you can return."

"Eight badges? _Are you serious?" _Terry's voice stepped up a notch. "Do you have any idea how long that'll take? Years. And how _hard_ it'll be- god, what about school? What about my friends? And Julie! What's she going to do without me?"

"She'll live," his mother said. "Lots of sisters lose their brother to Pokémon. Besides, I'll be here for her."

"That's not the point!"

"No, it's not!" His mother gritted her teeth. "The point is, you're risking both of our lives by being a goddamn idiot. And until you have the maturity to wisen up, I don't want you around us both. At all."

"So you hate me," Terry said flatly.

"Sometimes, yes!"

"It's because I'm a vampire, isn't it? That's the real reason. You're afraid one of these days I'm going to go for your julgar and you think I'm disgusting because I eat red meat and you're sending me away."

His mother sighed. "No, Terry. Julie and I both love you, and we trust you have a good heart. Just sometimes you put your stomach before your head."

"Yeah," Terry said. "Yeah, I guess I do. But still! I don't have to leave you both for all that time to learn better."

"Well what about after you mauled those criminals, and the police made that task force? You said you'd stop then. You said you wouldn't draw any more attention to us."

"Then I'll say it again, and mean it this time!" Terry protested.

"We need more than that," his mother said. "We need proof."

"You just want me to get out of your hair for a year! You don't care about how I might survive. You don't care about me at all." Of course they didn't. They were humans, he was a vampire. Terry didn't know why he ever thought different.

His mother scoffed. "Of course I _care_. No mother wants to live alone. But if you continue the way you are, you'll be stacked, or shot, or living on the streets before you hit nineteen. You just can't drain people, even murderers, and you _can't_ kill livestock. I know it doesn't sound like it, but I'm doing this for you. So you can function in an adult world."

Terry changed tactics. "Well what about my schooling? Surely you don't think it's a good idea to miss a year or more of education?"

His mother chuckled into her blouse. "You have all of immortality to reapply. I think it'll be fine."

Julie stepped back into the hallway. "Are you guys done yelling yet?"

"Well if Terry's stopped chucking a temper tantrum, I'd say so."

Terry nodded and frowned, and his heart sank with the truth of the lecture. He really was leaving. "I've never even played Pokémon. I don't know how to battle or anything…"

"You'll learn," said his mother reassuringly.

"Yeah, and get your ass kicked by ten year olds," Julie snickered into his ear.

"Mum, Julie just called me weak!" His mother was retreating back into the living area.

"Julie, your brother's got superstrength! Play nice."

Terry stuck his tongue out. Julie made an offended face.

His little sister stuck her hands in her pockets. "I'm gonna miss you," she confided.

"Yeah, you too." Terry swallowed. "But I mean I'm not going yet. We've still got whole days to hang around together and pack and stuff."

"A _whole year_," Julie whispered. "I mean, I knew it was bad, but I didn't think she'd go that far."

"Me neither." Terry stared down at his school shoes. "I must've made her feel really worried her."

"Yup. When she got home she cried."

"Thanks, Julie. I really wanted to hear that." God, he should apologize.

Julie's eyes caught his school shoes. "_Damn_, you're going to miss the school holidays too. And my birthday."

"I'll bring you back a present." Terry promised. He crossed his arms. "I can't believe this afternoon my biggest worry was Maths homework. So much for that, huh."

Julie seemed to sense he was getting into a mood again. "I'll just go water the pot plants."

Terry went to his room, and sat down in front of his heater where he flipped his shoes off. Terry usually liked his heater, because had was an electric fan and actually produced heat for some strange reason, but today he wasn't calmed by it. His image in the mirror dangling on the across wall mocked him. _Look how stereotypically handsome I am_, it said harshly. _Dark hair, pale skin and high cheekbones except oh wait none of that helps when you're trying to not look like a vampire __..._

And he didn't even have super strength taboot.

Stupid Pokémon. Stupid journeys. Of course he had to get matched off with the only other species that was just as weird as him. God, why didn't anyone like _normal_ animals for a change. Terry had a picture of a lion as his desktop background except Julie was always changing it.

Julie. God, what the hell would he ever do without his frustratingly annoying, hyper-intelligent girly little sister? Let alone his mum. He didn't even know how to tie a tie. Not that Terry planned to be tying many ties on his road trip but really. His packing skills were terrible.

Terry closed his eyes as he thought about what lie his friends might believe. _I'm travelling the world to find my one true love._ Lame. _I'm being put on witness protection for stalking a wanted criminal._ Worrying. _TPU's paying me twenty bucks a night to film a regional documentary._ They'd want to see the film.

_I know I've never really liked Pokémon but I don't care about school and I want to go on an adventure…_

Looks like they'd have to settle for that, because no way in hell was he telling them the truth.

It wasn't that he didn't trust his friends not to freak out. He didn't. But they'd known each other for so long that it would be awkward if they asked why he never told them. What would he say, that his mother forbid him and he was saving it for the perfect moment? And then if he just left.

God. Terry flipped his open phone shut and threw it in the bag.

Sounded like he'd be needing it.

The days after that were awkward to say the least. Terry was barred from his usual chores, and he sulked around the house once school was out, collecting food supplies and wondering what to do.

Joshua and Bronte ended up visiting him. He'd forget he arranged to go with them to the park house that Saturday and they came to his house to bring him along with them. They talked about strange wardens and the lookout view and Terry sat in the gazebo and opened his mouth and closed it.

Finally, he stood up. "Guys," he said. "I'm leaving."

Bronte stopped talking mid-sentence to stare. "Well, bye," she said dubiously.

"You alright there, Terry?" Joshua thought to ask. "You didn't show up here at first, and now you're acting all weird."

Terry let out a breath. "No, I mean I'm _leaving_. I'm going on a trip, and I'll probably be gone a long time. I might not come back."

"What?" ("_what?_") Both of them stood up with him.

"But _why_?" Bronte was quick to demand. "Surely you don't want to go and leave us, do you. What about school?"

"I'm dropping out of school," Terry said. Joshua chewed his lip.

"Are you moving? Where to? And who's going with you?"

"I…" Terry didn't know what to say for a moment. "I don't have any plans to move, and my _family's_ not moving. I'm going by myself."

"That sounds pretty dangerous," Joshua commented.

Bronte leant back against the railing. "Oh my god."

"Yeah," Terry agreed, and tried to get himself to tell them about becoming a trainer. "I'm going to, uh, go on foot." _Chicken._

Joshua's frown increased. "You can't go on foot, man. I mean you'll get killed. By Pokémon. Surely you know that?"

Terry said nothing. He kneaded his eye sockets with his fists, threw his arms down and span and started home.

"Terry!" Bronte called after him. "Terry, wait."

She caught his shoulder with his hand and he threw it off.

"Don't call me," he said.

Bronte texted him the next day. _Terry, why didn't you tell us you were going on a Pokémon journey? We would've understood._

He wasn't going to miss them. He wasn't.

_Who told you?_

_Julie__._

"Julie, you're dead!" Terry called into the other room. A cackle returned.

Joshua's message came a few minutes later. _Good luck._

"Dear," Terry's mother poked her head in the door. "I just got a call from Bronte's dad. What did you tell her?"

"Nothing. And I don't want to know anything more about it, I'm blocking her number."

"You can't just push your friends away because you're ashamed of yourself."

"I'm not ashamed of yourself." Liar.

"Why don't you go down to the gym today with Julie? You could see if they could get a starter delivered."

"Okay," Terry muttered.

"Julie, take your brother out to get a Pokémon!"

There was none of the usual _awww mum, I wanted to do blah today._ Julie appeared at his doorframe. "Come on," she said.

They walked into town, and Julie pointed out all the sign streets that had to do with Pokémon painstakingly.

"Yeah, who would've thought that Mareep Street might be named off a mareep."

"Oh shut up," his sister said, adjusting her sun hat. "When you go to Goldenrod, if you do and you have to by the way to buy me a gift, go visit Crystal Walk. All the sculptures are facing out over the harbour, and they have little coloured lights in them, and at night they glitter. It sounds so romantic."

It'd probably just make me hungry. God. What _was_ I going to do about that. I couldn't keep my Pokémon in its ball all the time.

They caught the bus into the centre city, and Julie convinced him to go to the markets with her to 'look for supplies'. She tried on about fifty dresses and begged him to buy one, and he spent his allowance on a cap which said, "Meat is Murder Tasty".

"Yeah, that's not obvious at all," Julie said.

Terry raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about."

After they escaped from the markets, Julie spotted the Silph Store and they spotted a beautiful red pokedex with indent designs. "It's on sale!" his sister squealed. "Oh, you _have to_ get it."

"Yeah, I didn't actually bring my piggy bank with me."

"Oh come on!" The girl leant in and wiggled her eyebrows. "Use your… speciality."

Oh god. Terry's 'speciality' was that he could pass through shadows at will. "They have security cameras," he whispered.

"I won't tell mum if you won't."

"No, besides they'll notice me vanish."

"Not if you go to the bathroom first."

"You are not making a thief of me, _July_."

And that was the end of that conversation. Julie did buy the custom cover off a sales assistant though, and grinned at Terry knowingly.

Terry followed the big sign that said 'To Gym' in the business sector and didn't let Julie distract him anymore. He was getting a Pokémon and getting out of there whether she liked it or not.

"What type of Pokémon do you want to get?" she asked.

The vampire shrugged. "One I can eat without feeling guilty."

Julie squealed in outrage. "No, Terry, you can't eat your starter it's not fair!" she lowered her voice when a passing trainer staired. "Promise me to give it a chance okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Terry grumbled. Sisters were so irratating.

She'd be gone soon.

Julie scoffed. "You didn't even mean that! Hey, you know the Gym Leader here teaches Steel Types. They might give you one of them if you ask nicely. But I don't even know if they register trainers, or if you have to go to the Pokémon Centre."

"Then why are we even here?" Terry demanded.

There wasn't time for answer. They faced the entrance of the domed, jagged Pokémon Gym with doors made entirely of scrap metal. The landscaping blended the building easily into the high rise and luxury apartments steeled around, and I thought if Steel Pokémon weren't so earthy it'd probably be a skyscraper.

The doorman nodded at them, and deciding they weren't trainers, inquired, "You here as spectators?"

"Actually," I said before Julie could become offended, "I was interested in seeing if I could get a Pokémon ordered in from here. Should I go to a mart or a Pokémon centre, or…?"

"Oh, that's fine. Just wait, I'll grab one of the assistants."

They waited. A young, blonde girl wearing cog and gear earrings returned, clipboard out and tapping against her thigh. "Heard there was a Pokémon order?"

"Yeah, that'd be me," Terry said. "I wanted to know if you could order a starter or something from New Bark Town or from anywhere and how much it would cost."

"Well it depends what you're after really," the girl replied. "If you wanted a Pikachu or Charmander or something shipped in from Kanto it would probably cost a lot compared to the basic Johto set, and it depends if you get them purebred from the lab or from a backyard breeder or a professional. And then there's the under 15's handout, which you might be eligible for. Really you're looking from anything between fifty to five hundred dollars."

"Wait, so there's more than one type?" Terry backpedalled. His expression must have looked boggled because Julie snickered into her sun dress.

"Don't you believe it," said the assistant, growing more enthusiastic with each sentence. "You can choose from the traditional Johto starters of Cydnaquil, Totodile or Chikorita or the four Kanto starters or the three Hoenn and Sinnoh starters, and the unofficial Evee, Vulpix, Poliwag, Oddish set… or if you use the PTN you can buy any Pokémon you want without a level restriction from anywhere in the world. The non-specialized starters do tend to be more temperamental though. Actually if you're interested from getting a Pokémon from right here in the gym I think Daniel's Aggron just had babies."

"So I could get a cold-blooded po-" Julie elbowed him sharply. "Nevermind. What's the PTN?"

"The Pokémon Trade Network. You can buy any Pokémon easily over the internet on the PTN website and trade them with a computer transmissioner, which is like a big, expensive pc adaptor. We have one in the gym next to the heal machine. God there are union rooms full of transmissioners in like all the good Pokémon centres. Oh, and there's the GTS in Goldenrod where they have trade summits and auctions and stuff, but you probably already knew that."

"Oh cool," Terry said. Goldenrod sounded like a pretty snazzy place, no small wonder they made it the capital. "Umm, I just want to have a think about it. Can I call you? And how long do they take to arrive?"

The girl smiled. "Well, if you use the PTN it's teleportation, so it's instantaneous once the deal's done, but if you trade from a breeder they might deliver it personally to make sure their Pokémon is going to a good home. A few days in that case. And sure that's fine, I've got a match to see to anyway. I'll give you the gym's contact card and you can call me if you've got any more questions. My name's Madonna."

"Like the singer?" Julie demanded instantly Terry swore with stars in her eyes, and the assistant laughed.

"Yeah. I'll see you guys round, okay? When you're a trainer!"

"Thanks, Madonna," Terry said back. He was feeling way overloaded with information but he was happier for it, and thought he might be able to get a good Pokémon for cheaper now. Not that he even had the slightest idea what he wanted.

"I can't believe you didn't even get a Pokémon," Julie sulked on the way out. "A baby Aggron! That would've been so cute."

"It would've been ugly and gargantuan," argued Terry, even though he didn't know what an Aggron was.

They got home, and it turned out their mum had been off arranging a time for Terry to leave. "I talked to Cathy next door," she said. "And it turns out George isn't leaving home until Monday, since he's going with a friend. Since you're going to be _looking after him_," his mother stressed with a deadly emphasis, "then you've still got one day to get your stuff together and say your goodbyes."

Terry told her about forgetting to bring money for a Pokémon, and the girl who told them all their starter options at the gym.

His mother laughed. "And here I thought you were out in the northern route crawling on your knees trying to catch one yourselves! I left a pokeball on the counter, but if you really want to avoid danger and buy one, that's fine too."

"Yeah, I think I could get one pretty cheap if I used this grant thing the girl at the place was talking about. But I don't know if I want to get a water type or a fire type or what."

"Ooh, get a Totodile! Rawr," Julie offered, running past for the fridge.

His mother shuffled a few papers. "Well, you've always liked lions. Why don't you get something lionish?"

"Great idea! Thanks mum," Terry gave her a peck on the cheek and ran off to google lion Pokémon.

He soon ran into a slight predicament. The only two Pokémon that were vaguely lionish (and Purrloin didn't count because it was a cat and loinish) were stupid. One was Entei and an actual mythological creature, and the other was something called a Shinx, which was stupid because it was electric and weird coloured didn't even look like one. Well, the Luxray was pretty cool he admitted but his mum would never let him get an electric lion for his first Pokémon. He'd probably try to eat it and fry himself to death.

God they had mouse Pokémon, they had dog Pokémon, they had like two million bird Pokémon, why wasn't there a decent selection of lions?

"Still looking for starters?" Julie asked as she walked in.

"Yup, and doing fine without you thanks." Julie took that as her cue to bonk him on the head and take over the computer. "Oi, use your own."

"I'm showing you the starters, idiot." She brought up like six tabs of google searches.

"Hey, what's that one?" I pointed one out suddenly.

"What, this?" Julie switched back. "Oh, Vulpix. It's a flaming fox pixy thing. Real prissy and stuff. Mum'd like it if you got one of those , you can get them near Ecruteak and they're probably cheaper."

"It looks really sad in its Wikipedia entry." It looked really sad in the picture. Like someone had called its birthday off.

"Well that's just one Vulpix. They don't all look like that, idiot."

Their mother came in and joined them. "Well jeez, party in my room settle in guys," Terry complained.

"You're welcome," Julie said. "Hey, so you definetly want a Vulpix?"

"Well all the other Pokémon are crap, so…"

"Terrence James Tyson what have I told you about swearing in front of your sister?"

"Oh come on mum, I'm like twelve now!" Julie said. "Twelve! He's only two years older."

Terry grinned. "So can I get the Vulpix?"

"I can't believe you want a _girl_ Pokémon," grumbled Julie.

The vampire scoffed. "So, _you_ liked the manly crocodile."

"Stop it, you two. If Terry wants the pretty kitty he can have the pretty kitty. Now where do you want to get your Pokémon from, honey?"

Terry huffed, crossing his arms wonderingly. "Wherever it's cheapest I guess. But Julie you did say you can catch them up near Ecruteak right?"

"You're not going up to Ecruteak by yourself without a Pokémon," their mother cut in. "I'll get one in cheap from the trade union and that's that. Come with me tomorrow to the Pokémon centre, we'll get you an ID there too."

"Alright," said Terry, who was still a bit embarrassed to be seen in public with his mum. And all the crowds made him thirsty… Like the vein in Julie's wrist made him thirsty…

Shaking the thought off, Terry excused himself for an early dinner. Hopefully when he went on a feeding frenzy this time he'd remember to leave the leftovers off of their doorstop. God, he'd probably killed enough rabbits by now to make a fur pelt. He could start his own clothing line. 'Vampire Fresh'.

The next day passed too quickly. It seemed like the every second was spent in a vacuum of cleaning, changing, packing, arguing about whether his room should be made into a second office, and purchasing. By the end of it all Terry had a trainer ID, a pokedex, the pokeball that got left on the counter, three hundred dollars to spend, and a Pokémon he hadn't seen yet and wouldn't until tomorrow.


	2. Chapter Two: Envy

Sunny days. The bane of Terry's vampire life.

As soon as he felt those gentle rays blind him awake that fateful Monday morning he knew he was in for hell. He writhed through his sheets and with a terrible moan, fell the floor.

"Oh stop being such a big baby, you," his little sister, who he quite unfortunately shared a room with at the moment, replied in wake.

"I'm burning!" Terry cried. "Buuurrrning!"

It was a miserable day from then on, as he realized he wouldn't be seeing his family or friends for at least a year, and he would probably be walking in the dratted sunshine all day. Terry cleaned his teeth somewhat aggressively, stomped downstairs and loudly demanded his pokemon.

"Ahh, don't you just love summer days? Sun shining… birds singing… Terry leaving." His dratted mother. Julie snorted into her cereal.

Terry had that horrible feeling he got when realized he might go outside crumple to ashes without help. "Give me my adorable ragmuffin of a new pokemon, woman."

"_Woman?_ Some respect for the fairer sex please." His mother grinned, seeming to milk the situation for all its worth. "That depends. Did you a dump rotting animal carcass on our property yesterday evening?"

"You know I didn't," Terry said pompously, though truthfully he couldn't remember. The nights when he did eat a lot and bother to fall asleep he forgot the most of his kills. Probably to prevent nightmares or something. Haha, vampire brains, superior.

Terry's mother watched his face for giveaway but slowly handed the minimised pokeball over. Terry felt his heart pick up as he pressed the button and examined it in his hands. The others seemed to know better to interrupt.

He let the Vulpix out, and watched as the red light morphed into a solid form. The Vulpix was dark red with fluffy fur and little socks, and three and a half back-curled tails. She tensed, and circled around the foreign environment before curling up into a little ball in the corner.

"Aww," Julie said, "look, she's shaking."

"Well if I was ripped from my family and placed in a foreign environment I'd be pretty scared too," their mother quipped. Terry swallowed and tried not think of how that now applied to him.

His sister pushed him forward. "Go bond with it before I do."

Terry knelt down, reaching out a hand and smiling shakily. He tried not to extend his fangs. Could pokemon tell if a person let out fangs? Would they smell that he was a vampire?

"Hey there," Terry said, running a finger over a lock of scorching fur. "I'm Terry." There didn't seem much more to say. He couldn't exactly ask _what's your name?_ But people always said Pokemon understood human language. "Let's be friends, okay? You're my first pokemon ever, and if I can cope with the blood we might be battling together."

"Scan it with the pokedex," Terry's mother offered, and Terry whipped it out. The covered device scanned for a moment, then brought up Vulpix's page.

Terry's Vulpix turned out to be ten months old according to the red machine, male, and in a healthy condition.

"What're you going to call him, then?" his mother asked.

"Foxy," the vampire joked, and the small pokemon made a mewl of protest. "I don't know, I'll think of something."

He and Julie both tried to coax the pokemon out of its tiny ball, but it wouldn't move, and the vampire felt too afraid to scoop it up in case he held it wrong.

"You can't hold it wrong, it's a pokemon," Julie scoffed.

"But he looks so fragile," Terry commented. "Are you sure he's old enough to battle?"

"I think they are at nine months?" his mother quiered. "Depends on the size."

"Well, better to learn sooner than later," was Julie's opinion. Terry recalled his Vulpix, seeing as there was nothing he could do.

"You should go outside in the sun and get to know each other," his mother suggested. The sun? Terry shook his head.

"Well, you don't have to be around to the Sorrenson's until Eight. It's five to now, so we've probably got enough time for a nice breakfast before the big goodbyes."

The big goodbyes. What he'd been dreading all day.

"If anyone want me I'll be on the couch," Julie said.

Terry's mother sighed. "You think she'd want to spend more time with you, seeing how long you're going to be away for. And I hope you don't drop those kids straight off out there, Terry. Even if you are a vampire, they're both relying on you.

Mealtimes were always a bit awkward at home, seeing as how Terry ate raw dripping stake for every meal. His mother kept them in the fridge where they used to keep the dog bones. Terry wondered if he'd miss this, sitting at the duck-print tablecloth while his mother crunched toast. He'd never had duck. He wondered if the blood was any sweeter.

They finished, and Terry's mother called Julie over to come say goodbye with her.

"I'm sorry I have to go deal with this," Terry said, clutching the pokeball on his belt. He felt like it might fall off any minute.

His mother hugged him tight. "Never feel sorry. I want you to know that we both love you and care for you and whoever might call you a monster out there Julie and I both know you're really not. You're a good person, Terry."

"A good vampire," Terry corrected in a whisper. But it didn't seem to matter at that moment, vampire or no.

"I'll miss you very much big brother," Julie put her arms around him next. "You don't have to go."

"No, I should go," and that's what Terry thought. "I should go and become someone you can both be proud of."

"Or you could stay and watch Disney channel with us?" Terry laughed and shook his head, feeling a bit sad, and Julie laughed too, tearing up.

"Oh Julie, don't cry you'll make me cry too," it was what he'd always done ever since they were kids.

"I'm trying not to, Terry," Leia said in a warbly little voice.

"Bye Julie." Terry gave her another hug. "Bye mum."

"Goodbye, honey."

They waved, and Terry turned and walked, sucking a deep breath in. He had his backpack. He had his pokemon, and his fangs. He'd be fine.

Terry spotted the ten year olds next door, with the father. Terry'd almost forgotten about them.

Mister Sorrenson looked a bit worried too, and he smiled in relief when Terry approached. "Thanks for looking after my boys, son. You're a good man."

Terry wasn't sure he could take so many people thinking of him as human. It made his chest hurt. He was a killer, plain and simple.

"It was the least I could do, sir." He stepped back, and let the family have their moment, the mother shaking like his newfound Vulpix.

The kids were four years younger than him, meaning they'd just finished year six. The brunette Terry didn't know with glasses had the black mole starter pokemon out on her shoulder, Cindersomething? She stood away with him while her friend Terry guessed, the rowdy brat neighbour he knew as George, sniffled into his mother's tank top.

They said goodbye.

"Hi," Terry said. "My name's Terry." He shook both their hands, which probably wasn't a common thing yet at their age with the way the girl stared up at him. Well, whatever put them at ease. Terry's heart was thumping like it was stuck behind a door. He'd probably run out of blood soon.

"I'm Leia," the girl said simply.

Terry grinned a wavering grin. "Are you a princess Leia?"

"No," she put back. Weird kid. George stared up at Terry with worried eyes.

"You- you won't tell anyone you saw me cry, will you?"

"Really, I didn't even realize," Terry said in a careful tone . "A tough guy like you, no one would believe me anyway."

"You really think so?" George said, cheered fairly.

"I know so. So guys, we said everything and ready to go now?"

"I've been ready for _aaages_," Leia said. "Mum didn't want me to leave home by myself so she made sure I was going with George, but George didn't turn ten until now so I had to wait weeks and weeks not training Charlie. I can't wait to go today!"

"Me neither," Terry said back, beginning to walk. "Seeing as we can't head south because of the raging sea, we're going to be heading up north to the farms, and Ecruteak city. I know the pokemon are tough around here, but together we should be able to—"

"Oh wow, have you seen my Pidgey yet? It has a white speck on its wing and its name is Freckle. Mum said I wasn't allowed to let it out in the house, but I did anyway."

Terry smirked at that mental image. "Fascinating, George."

"I know, right! When I grow up me and Freckle are going to become world champions together. They won't let you challenge the Elite Four unless you're thirteen but I'm going to do it before I stop being ten so we have enough to challenge all the champions in every region."

"Hmm, I think someone already did that," Terry reflected. "I think his name was Ash Ketchum."

"Ash Ketchum," George repeated dreamily.

"Do you think we're going to see a Ho-oh today?" Leia wondered.

"God, people go their entire lives without ever seeing a ledendary," Terry said. "They're probably not even real."

"They are too real!"

"Well, alright," Terry replied. "You show me when you find one and I'll believe you."

Leia scanned the sunny skies intensely, as if the phoenix pokemon might suddenly fly out at any moment.

"You should let your pokemon out with me," George said. "It's a really nice day for them." Terry could tell he was going to get sick of this gig quick.

"Can't," Terry said. "It's afraid of me."

"Why?" George demanded.

"Well I don't know," Terry replied. "I'm not the bloody pokemon whisperer."

Leia let out an astonished gasp, and George made a low whoa sound.

"You can't swear!" Leia cried. "Arceus will strike you down if you do."

"I've been hearing a lot about this Arceus lately. He doesn't seem like a very nice chap."

"Wow," George said. "We've walked really far." They'd walked about a block away.

Terry settled for saying nothing.

However, George seem determined to oppose him. "Do you think this is what it's like to be on a real journey?"

"Of course not," Leia scolded. "Real journeys have Beautiflys, and high mountains. Besides, we haven't seen any angry flocks of Spearow yet."

"Yeah, just regular animals," complained George. "I hate regular animals, they're boring."

"Hey guys, why don't we play the Quiet Game?" Immediate shouts of 'no' followed. Terry winced, and pulled out his pokedex. It wouldn't help to study while he walked.

That stupid cyndaquil seemed very happy to be receiving the bright sunlight when Terry pointed his pokedex at it. The stupid thing.

Maybe she'd got smart and called her stupid pokemon stupid like he privately thought his. What kind of thing ignored their master, anyway?

Terry found himself in for a very long walk.

They'd made about a hundred metres from the city border when their group had to stop for a break. The sun was blasting down on them 'like a Dragonite's Hyperbeam' according to George, and the kids wouldn't stop complaining about how their legs hurt.

"I _hate_ walking," Leia said, collapsing down against a rock. Terry sat down cross legged on the grass and circled the pokeball in his palm.

"Man we haven't seen anything today," George complained. "Not even a measly Ratata. Man I wanted to catch a Taurus."

"We'll be lucky if we don't run into a Taurus," Terry said, vaguely remembering it from their study in geography about bull farming. "Our pokemon would get demolished."

"But really, where are they?" George said, ignoring him.

"Probably lying in the shade somewhere," Terry eventually replied. The hilly, plainy countryside was scattered with the odd tree or two which gathered into forest on the horizon; a pokemon would be smart to hide there.

Terry realized Leia was staring at him, and raised an eyebrow in response.

"What pokemon have you got?" she asked. "We should battle each other. You know, for fun."

Terry shrugged. "My pokemon isn't really up to battling yet. It's a Vulpix."

"Really?" Leia squealed. "Vulpix are so cute, I wish _I_ had a Vulpix." Her Cyndaquil nipped her on the ear. "Ow, what was that for? Anyway, you have to show us!"

Man, were Vulpixes a chick magnet or what? But still.

"I don't know…" said Terry.

"Oh, stop being such a big wuss," Leia said, and snatched the ball off him. She threw it to the ground, where the fire pokemon appeared still curled in a ball, crying.

"Jeez what'd you do to it, kick the thing?" George said. Charlie hopped off Leia's shoulder and padded over to investigate.

Vulpix didn't seem to like the molerat thing sniffing, and whined, jumping back on its hind feet.

Terry knelt down. "Come on man, don't be afraid. You're embarrassing me."

The Vulpix's big brown eyes widened to look at Terry and the fire fox flinched, darting off down the road at a sprint.

"Are you serious, it's way too hot to run," Terry said.

"Obviously it hates you," George decided. "Why don't you just leave it be? It'll be way too hard to recapture anyway."

"But I paid like sixty bucks for that thing!" Still, Terry wasn't about to move. The heat… sapping his energy… "This is all you guys's fault."

Leia made a hurt and protesting noise. George sneered at him. "Well you're almost as much of a wuss as your pokemon."

Terry glared, and broke off down the road at a run. "Vulpix!" he called. "Vulpix, come back! I'm really sorry for scaring you."

No little red fox thing appeared. Terry sighed, and crossed his arms. What did foxes eat again? "I've got a really nice rabbit in my bag for you Vulpix!"

Nothing. God, who didn't appreciate the lure of bona fide white rabbit?

"Fine," he called. "Well don't come out then. But if you meet me in the wild later don't expect me to go easy on you. I'll drain you like a sieve, whatcha gonna do about that?"

Evidently nothing. Terry sat down on the gravel road, decided it was too hot and prickly to sit on, and lay down on the grass.

It was pretty quiet, because there was no wind and no other movement, except there was some kind of rumbling a bit off, sort of like…

…hooves?

"Holy fucking shit," Terry squeaked as he sat up and stared into the herd of angry Taurus stampeding towards him.

He was so dead. He was so dead.

He was… a vampire.

Terry felt his fangs rip through his lower lip and his pulse race up into over dive. He could do this. He could do anything.

He charged at the first bull in the pack and smacked into it hard enough to form tears, tearing into the first patch of thick leathery skin he found. The Taurus bellowed and smacked its bony snout into Terry's face, and Terry crumpled. The bull plowed on and the rest of the herd approached.

Well, so much for that. His nose felt broken and he couldn't outrun them.

He was going to die again.

Terry watched in a detatched sense of curiousity that a large, dark figure was blotting out the sky on the far horizon. Oh and it was moving, as fast as a jet, casting dark shadow over the plains it crossed.

The herd snorted and rumbled deep in their throats.

A shadow, god that would be nice. He could do with some shade huh? A hysterical laugh bubbled in Terry's throat. Julie had been annoying him about shadows Saturday morning.

But that was it. His speciality!

If the shadow could just get close enough, he could shadow walk out of the way before the Tauros got to him.

Closer… closer… now!

Just as the first hoof of the bull pokemon clipped Terry's heel the massive bird passed over his spot, for a moment blotting out the sun.

That was all he needed. Terry ran through the shadow tunnels as fast as he could and burst out of the first one he saw, panting heavily as he emerged and the sun burst back.

The herd trampled over the spot where he'd just lay.

A small Vulpix beside rock next to him mewled.

"I can't fucking believe it," Terry breathed a minute later. "I could have died. I would have died, if it weren't for that shadow. God, and mum thinks humans are dangerous? Holy shit that was _close_!"

"So close," he repeated, hissing at the flare in his ankle.

The Vulpix tried to wedge further into the rock.

Terry pulled him out. "And where do you think you were while I was dying under a bloody stampede, you little shit? So much for being my loyal protector and guardian. I almost died because of you, you know."

The vulpix cried again, struggling and held only by the scruff of its furr. It began to heat up in Terry's hands and he let it go.

He returned it, and glared at the pokeball.

"Right. I am _not_ taking my eye of you, now. You think you can just run off because you hear something scary and leave me to die? Well I'm not going to play nice anymore. I'll bloody throw you in every battle I see, like it or not, and I hope we get _pulverized_."

Terry's nose had stopped bleeding so it probably wasn't broken, but it still stung like hell and when he stood up on one foot he hissed.

Yep, his ankle was definitely gone.

Dizzy from the pain, Terry collapsed back down on the flat rock, until the heat was enough to make him stand up again. This rock that his Vulpix had chosen was still pretty close to the forest, and he didn't want anything else bursting out of nowhere. Terry picked up a falllen tree branch to use as a crutch and hobbled back over to the road, staring into the distance where the Tauros had been. He recognized a two small figures where the bull he attacked was, and limped over across to them.

"Wow Terry, you look terrible," Leia commented. "What happened to your foot?"

"Tripped," Terry growled.

"Where were you?" George demanded. "There was this massive stampede and I swear like a Lugia or something flew across the sky and I caught a Tauros, just like I wanted!"

Terry gritted his teeth. "Yeah, I saw."

"It wasn't even a Lugia," Leia said. "We couldn't even see because it was silhouetted. I bet it was just a Tropius."

"Oh my god, I bet it was totally a Ho-oh just like we were talking about!" George said. "I bet fate knew that I was becoming a trainer today and that I wanted a Tauros so it made that Pokemon attack my Tauros so I could catch it. And then it flew a Ho-oh over the sky like in the original series so I'd know!"

"Yeah, because that sounds so plausible," Terry growled.

George recoiled, and Leia shot him a glare.

Leia began walking down the road again, and George almost followed. "Wait, how are you going to walk to Ecruteak?" he asked.

"I'll crawl if I have to," Terry muttered. Leia noticed they weren't following her and stopped to look around.

"Oh I've got an idea, you can ride my new Tauros there!" George exclaimed.

"Your _hurt_ and _untrained_ Tauros?" Terry purposely stressed.

George deflated. "Oh, right," he murmured. "Well… maybe Leia and I will walk on ahead and you can catch up when it's feeling better, okay?"

"It's not going to just _feel better,_ it's broken!" shouted Terry.

"What, did your Vulpix tell you that?" George said. "It's probably not even sore. You're probably just making it up so you don't have to walk all the way!"

Leia stalked back and grabbed his arm. "Come on, George. We don't need him. Why don't we go on an adventure by ourselves like we first planned?"

George glared back at Terry, but followed Leia's lead. Terry mumbled a few choice curse words and stared down the back of their heads. God, if his foot wasn't so bad he'd run up behind them and rip their browns out.

_Calm down, Terry_ the vampire told himself, recognizing the monster surfacing. _Mum would kill you if you ate the kids you were supposed to mind. Besides, you just ate._

Well it wasn't really eating so much as fighting for his life and grabbing a bite of raw flesh, but…

Wait stop. Goal of the journey, right? Control raging appetite.

God it was probably just bloody hormones, Terry thought, he meant he was going through a growth spurt so why shouldn't he be eating like a feral pig? It was perfectly normal.

A pang of pain lanced through Terry's phone, and he winced, pulling his jogger off to fix the circulation cut. It was so hot, and he hurt so much, and why did he wear long trousers today? But at least he had his ironic hat.

Maybe he should give his mum a call. She'd want to know he'd ditched his kids, and that he was out of action for a little bit.

But, it would be so painful. He'd just said goodbye, too. She's probably be angry and stuff. He did say he'd keep an eye out for those kids.

Those stupid kids were even stupider than his stupid Vulpix and the stupid Tauros… It should've been _his_ first pokemon he caught.

Terry caught sight of a figure walking from the end of the road, and watched as it slowly approached. He waved.

"Umm, hi," the other person said, stopping beside him. Terry belatedly realized it was weird to wave at people you didn't know. The guy was about twenty, with buzzed hair and a pokemon waddling beside him; big, leafy, yellow and sterangely shaped like a gumnut. "You alright?"

"I broke my ankle chasing after my pokemon," Terry said. "You don't have anything that could give me a lift to Olivine, do you?"

The other guy smiled apologetically. "I would, but my Espeon's out of action at the moment. We just got into a run with a territorial Milktank. Think I got some painkillers in my kit though, gimme a sec."

Terry nodded, watching as the older guy root through his bag. "I've had such a bad day," he confided. "I've lost the kids I was supposed to mind, my starter hates me, and I broke my foot. Not to mention it's boiling hot."

"Wow, that does suck. But don't worry about it," the guy said. "Everyone has a rough first journey out. And I mean, it can only get better from here on right?"

"Guess so," Terry said, taking the pills offered. He'd always been warned against candy from strangers, but right now he'd give just about anything to have the pain die down. "Thanks. God I can't wait till they kick in, I'm just about dying here."

The other guy laughed. "Well that's understandable. I'm Chris by the way, and this awesome Weepinbell you see here's Freschia."

"Terry," said Terry, shaking his hand. "I have a Vulpix, but I haven't named her yet."

"Really?" Chris said. "Maybe that's your problem. I remember I once had a Zubat and when I didn't name her she got really indignant and kept ignoring me."

The Weepinbell snuggled closer towards Chris sympathetically.

"Your pokemon looks really happy," Terry noted. It had a peaceful expression on its face, like it felt really safe around its trainer.

Chris looked up. "Yeah," he said, grinning. "We've known each other a long time. I got her back in Fushia City from the gym leader's kid when we were visiting and we've been inseparable ever since. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was hard at first. She kept poisoning me. But I battled a lot with her and spent a lot of time with her out of her pokeball and with no one else out there, we really came to appreciate each other."

Terry subconciously looked down on the pokeball on my belt, and wondered if I'd ever come to appreciate Vulpix. Pfft. Not likely.

"So what are you going to name her?"

"It's a him. And I don't know, I was thinking of Roxy or something, since it's a fox, but I don't think there's a guy version of that." Chris snorted. "But yeah, all the names I think of are all cliché. Like Flame, and Blaze, and Crimson and all that stuff."

"I don't know, I think Crimson's pretty cool," Chris said, fussing with his Weepinbell's ear. Thing. Leaf.

"Hmm. Guess so. Okay, Crimson it is then," I decided. I did kind of like it actually. And I could call it Crim for short. Like a criminal, when it was bad. Entertaining.

Chris gave Terry an odd glance again with his speckly gey eyes. "You can't just decide without him. What if hates it and doesn't respond to it?" Chris sounded amused.

"Oh okay, fine." Not that Terry _wanted_ to see the damn thing, but if he had to. He held the button on its pokeball and let it out.

Vulpix emerged, licking a paw and looking much less inclined to run off. It threw an anxious gaze to Terry, and then looked back.

"Go on," Chris encouraged. "Ask."

"So Vulpix," Terry said with as little inclination as he could. "I was thinking of giving you a nickname. Do you like the name Crimson?"

Vulpix cocked its head to the side, and beat one ear. It noticed Chris and the Weepinbell beside Terry and jumped, rolling onto its stomach in submission.

"Looks like he's playing dead," Chris said with a grin. "Freschia won't harm you, kit, don't worry. I've trained her to read body language. She only really responds to voice cues nowadays, which is a curse and a blessing all in one."

Vulpix narrowed its eyes in suspicion and slowly padded forward.

"Why don't you give her something to eat?" Chris suggested. "If you got her from the wild she might be starved."

"Riiight." Of course. Taming Pokemon. Food. Terry sometimes felt like an idiot.

The fox cub took a small bite of the sandwich in Terry's hand, and when Terry didn't scold him, quickly scarfed down the whole lot. Terry grinned at the crumbs. Well, he wasn't about to eat the meal anyway.

"Aww look at you two, bonding away," Chris expressed in a fond tone. "God, I should probably be off already and stop ruining the moment. I do have to get on to Olivine, actually. Man I have the slowest sense of time… Do you need a splint for your foot? Wait, I just thought of something."

"Yeah?" Terry said.

"Yeah," Chris confirmed. "Since you don't have any Pokemon to carry you, I was thinking I could give you a piggy back back to Olivine. Doesn't look to far from here."

Terry burned with embarrassment. "No seriously… I mean it's fine, you don't need to-"

"Oh come on, it'll be fun," Chris said. "Besides, I need the strength training."

"Well so long as it doesn't hurt my ankle, I guess," Terry slowly replied. It wasn't like he had any better offer. "But if we see anyone, you have to put me down."

Chris's eyes gleamed with mirth. "Whatever you say, kid. Hey, I think I've forgotten your name."

"Well I'm not telling you again, so you'll just have to guess."

Guess Chris did, picking Terry up by the thighs and hauling him down the track. Vulpix plodded along by nervously, and Freschia jumped along for the ride. Chris's guesses grew more and more eccentric as they made their way down the road.

"Fitzfinnegan?" he speculated, then, "Aljernon?"

"I can't believe you already forgot," Terry grumbled in good humour. "I remembered _your _name."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"Chris?"

"…Damn."

It felt a bit like taking a step backwards, returning to his hometown after half a day, but then, without Chris's help he wouldn't be taking any steps at all.

"Hey Chris, do trainers have free health care?" he asked, "or is that just the Pokemon rangers?"

"Just the rangers and the professional trainers. Nope, you're going to half to pay well out of pocket like the rest of us, Terry. Unless you've got private insurance."

"I don't _think_ so," Terry expanded. "I mean, we're not exactly rich. I'll have to call mum and ask."

He called. Much to his chagrin, his mother sounded more amused rather than worried that he'd broken his foot 'chasing his pokemon' on his first day and had to get a piggy bank home. "You're paying it for yourself, you're a trainer now," she scolded him. "It's not hard, and you have to start taking more responsibility."

Financial responsibility? He was fourteen! He didn't even have a job. "Well if I have to get an operation, what'm I going to do then? They cost like thousands, and I don't have any money."

"You have a bank account, don't you?" his mother asked. God, and now she wanted him to waste away his child support fees. Terry hung up on her with a click.

"Harsh," Chris commented.

"Yeah, she wants me to pay rent when I turn eighteen too." Terry sighed, hissing as his foot knocked against Chris' leg. The pain had just only faded to a dull roar.

"Sounds like a bitch."

"Don't talk about my mother like that," Terry grumbled on principle.

Soon enough he was back right where they started, and the sun was going down. Terry purposely avoided the usual park in hobbling back propped against Chris' shoulder, but his friends were waiting at the hospital already.

"I told you so," Josh said.


End file.
